>> they're so little and they're so tiny and they're so innocent. >> caller is indicating she thinks there is somebody shooting in the building. the shooting appears to have

stopped. the school is in lockdown. >> had like seven loud booms. >> they saw smoke, and i smelled smoke and bullets went by. >> the teacher told us all to go where the library is and get behind something so the guy wouldn't see us. >> as soon as i heard the name, i was just completely shocked. that i knew this person. >> evil, visited this community today. >> it was sobbing. there was yelling, there was people throwing themselves on the floor. it was awful. excuse me. >> letting them talk about their fears is calming. >> but young children do not need to hear the nitty gritty. >> they had their entire lives ahead of them. our hearts are broken today.

>> good evening and welcome to a special hour of coverage, lester holt is in our new york studios, and other team is here in what must be tonight the saddest place on earth. newtown, connecticut. it was here in the even smaller hamlet called sandy hook, at the local elementary school grades k through 4, that a young man wearing black, heavily armed, entered the school firing today. he killed 20 small children and six adults before taking his own life. and this is one of two crime scenes in this same town tonight. this small new england town at the northern edge of the new york suburbs and the middle of the connecticut countryside. and all decorated for christmas has just been destroyed. everybody in this country, from the president of the united states on down has the same question tonight. how could someone have done this, and how could someone have killed these kids?

tonight, lester holt starts off the broadcast with a look at what has become one of the darkest days in modern american history. >> reporter: the families who live in small newtown, connecticut, 80 miles northeast of new york city called it the safest place in america. green and peaceful and great for kids. and then, today. >> just after 9:30 this morning, newtown police received a 911 call for an emergency at the elementary school. >> reporter: police transmiss n transmissions were heard. soon, police on duty and off were converging on the school, rushing to what was once the safest of havens, but now a crime scene. within minutes, a reverse 911 call went out to parents. >> due to reports of the shooting as yet unconfirmed, the district is taking preventive measures by putting all schools

on lockdown until we ensure safety of all students and staff. thank you. >> reporter: the awful details of what happened inside sandy hook elementary school are still emerging tonight. connecticut state police spokesperson lieutenant paul vance said the gunman opened fire in a single area of the school. >> the shootings did take place in one section of the school in two rooms. >> reporter: but tonight, it is the children themselves who are giving us firsthand accounts of what went on inside the school. >> the teacher told us to all go where our library is, and that is -- and get behind something, so -- since there was a window and the door, nobody -- the guy wouldn't see us. >> reporter: children who were just learning their numbers were suddenly counting off gunshots. >> how many gunshots would you say you heard as you were in this hallway. >> well, i think it was something like that ten. >> reporter: in the middle of

the horror, the kids said teachers stayed calm. >> i was in the gym and i heard a loud -- well i heard like seven loud booms. and the gym teacher told us go in the corner. so we all huddled. and i kept hearing these booming noises. >> reporter: this young man said his nine-year-old sister was in art class. >> they were hiding in the closet, a tiny closet, all bundled up. they were hearing screams. it was horrible. >> reporter: at some point, the shooting stopped. the children and teachers, hiding in closets, under desks and behind book cases heard the sound of police calling out, "your safe". >> our main objective was evacuate as quickly and efficiently as possible. all students and faculty in the school. >> reporter: but they made sure about one thing. police told the children to close their eyes as they passed by the school's main office. they walked single file, a chain of children here to the nearby

sandy hook fire department, which had become a amama maze o police cars, fire trucks and ambulances. parents, hearing the news, came rushing up in their cars, desperate for information. >> there is no news i could come up with that would even come close to describing the sheer terror of hearing that your son is in a place where there has been violence, and you can't do anything to immediately help them or protect them. >> reporter: others stood around waiting, helpless, stunned. >> there is really no words to express the magnitude of this, you know, you send your child to school. you think they're going to be safe. they're happy. and all of a sudden you get a phone call or a text that there has been a shooting at your child's school. >> reporter: two children were seen being carried from the school. >> they looked very pale, very injured. it was bad. >> i know some of them, i'm not going to see anymore. >> reporter: parents lucky enough to find their children

safe, held them tight. and the questions began. >> i don't know how they came in, because every time you go in you have to ring a bell. >> reporter: people began lining up outside in nearby churches to pray. the sheer numbers overwhelmed not just the community but all of connecticut. officials had to pull in medical examiners from out of state, attention soon focused on the shooter. >> breaking news right now. state police are responding to a report of a school shooting in newtown, connecticut. >> reporter: he has been identified as twenty-year-old adam lanza, police and federal officials say he was dressed in black and armed with at least two guns when he entered the school. his target was apparently the kindergarten classroom. he walked in and opened fire. then police say he killed himself. and just when they thought they had recovered all the victims, police found one more. this time, not at the school. a body believed to be lanza's mother was discovered inside her newtown home, where the shooter

also lived. >> one more, we said, a secondary crime scene, there is a deceased adult at the secondary crime scene. >> reporter: police later searched his car, house and his brother's home in new jersey. so far, no one has been able to answer the key question, why did he do it? >> our citizens, beautiful children, had their life taken away from them. >> reporter: in the meantime, governor dan malloy found a way to community not just the community but his shellshocked state. >> what has happened, what has transpired at the school building will leave a mark on this community and every family impacted. i only ask that all of our fellow citizens here in the united states and around the world who have already offered their assistance remember all of the victims in their prayers. >> reporter: a feeling echoed by

the president himself. he ordered all government flags to fly at half staff in memorial to the dead. later he addressed the country. >> i know there is not a parent in america who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that i do. the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of five and ten years old. >> reporter: tonight, an all-too common scene in this country, a candlelight vigil as another community tries to absorb the violence that visited it. and mourn the innocence lost. that community, newtown, and tonight was the second deadliest school shooting in american history after the 2007 massacre at virginia tech, which, brian, took 32 lives. >> well, lester, it continues to be an unbelievable scene here, a

short time ago, in fact, this very spot here, i was joined by two police lieutenants who were on scene here all day. from the connecticut state police, the man we have been watching on television all day, lieutenant paul vance. and from the local police department here in newtown lieutenant george sinko. >> reporter: first, from the perspecti perspective, how much can we know? how much are we allowed to know? >> well, this is truly a horrific situation we encountered here in newtown, starting early when the call came in, the police immediately responded. the rescue process began. and many children and staff were rescued. but as you well know, 20 children and six adults didn't make it out of that school. >> reporter: lieutenant sinko, this is your jurisdiction, your town, when the call came in,

sandy hook elementary school it must not have sounded real. >> exactly, i thought it would turn out to be a miscommunication. unfortunately, that was not the case. >> reporter: these were friends and these were neighbors? >> yes, yes, it is a small community here. things like this just don't happen in this town. and good people. just not something we thought we would ever see. >> reporter: lieutenant, how about all the first responders you have seen? >> well, we've done everything we can. it is important to note that between the fire, the ems and police personnel that responded they needed counseling, too. it is difficult to see human beings that have been murdered or been killed. it is even more difficult when children are involved. and this scene was horrific. heart wrenching, something that many of us will never get over. >> was this known to you at all? or was he just one of the anonymous citizens that lived among us as recently as this morning? >> yeah, we're not going to

comment on the specifics with him. you know, obviously, he is a resident of town. but we'll certainly look at every avenue with this case to try to come to as best a resolution as we can. >> lieutenant sinko, there is not enough words to tell this town how sorry we are. but what can you say to a national audience on behalf of your town? >> just that these are good people here. thi things like this should not happen to people like that. and there are no words that can ever really, you know, satisfy somebody in this situation. there just is not. and all we can do is the best we can to try to leave no stone unturned, and try to answer all the questions about why this happened. >> reporter: two veteran police officers. it has become a cliche, nobody expects this in the town where they live. especially not newtown, connecticut. we can't repeat this often enough, this is middle class

countryside new england. some of these houses in this town date back to the mid-1700s. and as both police officers could not repeat often enough, this story has become about this family. here we are, days away from christmas and they have lost their pride and joy. we have a look at some of the loss at -- tonight with anne curry. >> reporter: what happened today is unbearable. >> it is a close community, everyone kind of works together, so it is hard. >> reporter: erin deleah is a therapist at sandy hook elementary school. she works one-on-one with kindergarten and pre school stude students. she doesn't work on friday, so as fate would have it, she was out of the line of fire, her father texted her about the attack. >> it makes me feel happy i was

not this, but guilty as well, that i was not there to help. >> reporter: we were with erin and several friends today, when with lumps in their throats, they waited for word with their colleagues and students. >> just to not be there, and not have information it is hard to hear everything from the news. >> reporter: details came in, they're dreadful. >> i don't know how to wrap my head around the fact that so many children were killed, knowing that the angels of this school, they're so little and they're so tiny and they're so innocent. i can't even -- there are not words to express. >> reporter: and then something nobody expected. a call with the worst possible news. one of her students was gone. >> no, no. >> reporter: just a short distance away, monsignor robert weiss at the church in newtown

had been called to counsel families there. he tried to give solace to their parents. >> the intensity of the emotion is really hard to put into words. there was sobbing, yelling, there was people throwing themselves on the floor. it was a whole range of emotions. and there were people, you know, hugging each other. settling down. and it would come back to them again. and there would be an outbreak. it was very, very heavy emotion. >> reporter: the parents ached for children. >> they were really conflicted this morning about whether to leave or not. you know, they just wanted to be together. >> reporter: in those surreal moments, the reality hit with intensity. >> one lady's phone went off. it was time to take her boy to a cub scout meeting. she realized, i can't take him.

>> reporter: at 3:00 when connecticut's governor announced the full scale of the tragedy, defenses kicked in and raw emotion mixed with denial. >> it was just a matter of hugging them and crying with them and praying with them. there are many, many places right now, emotionally. i think there are some that are still not quite sure it is real. >> reporter: though the pastor had helped others deal with emotions, he never dealt with anything like this. >> in is awful, these are 20 people the week before christmas that just lost their joy. how do you live with that? monsignor weiss doesn't doubt the community will get support, but he doesn't know how the children will begin to understand. >> how do you recover from something as horrible as this? how do you help a child walk into the front door of the school the next day they have

class and not see the principal or any other staff that really cared about them. or their friends. >> reporter: one source of resiliency is the size and the closeness. everybody seems to know everybody. and tonight it felt like nobody was really alone, in churches, around kitchen tables, all across this little community people came together to begin to help each other bear this unbearable loss. >> this is very hard to discuss. the police told me tonight that the bodies of the children have started to come out of the school. their parents were able to be with them all day. and into tonight to make positive identifications. a word to our viewers, we have tried to show the same sensitivity. and i think this is true to these families as we would want in our own lives. it is just -- this town has been torn apart. and the degrees of separation,

ann, are down to one and two familie families. everyone knows someone. >> exactly, we have met several families. and exactly to your point earlier. so many of them were traumatized, there was no way we could put them on camera. and the families, after they gathered, you heard the monsignor talk about how many of them found out their children were not coming home. those families were taken, family by family, to that school to identify their children. and can you imagine the difficulty in that building right behind us, and the heartbreak, and so perhaps it is just right that the world is paying attention to these people and their loss. >> we have been saying all day this is a local volunteer house the way most of our fires get fought in this country. larger than most, because we're alongside the interstate here. these were citizen volunteers who were going on about their lives today when they were called to be first responders.

and tonight, the fbi is in there. people have been bringing food by and comforting everybody. it is a rough, rough time in this small town. ann curry here in newtown, connecticut, lester, back to you. >> and it is hard to understand why anyone would want to hurt innocent children. for much of the day, law enforcement was struggling to answer even the most basic question of just who was the alleged gunman? tonight with the help of some of those who knew him, the picture is starting to take shape. here is chris hansen. >> reporter: as darkness happened here in the community, filled with glowing homes and decorations, so did the veil of horror and confusion. when jim mcdade first heard the sirens this morning, he had no idea the alleged shooter had been living right down the block. >> when i first heard the news, i said no, it is not happening.

it is not real. and then when the news broke i was numb. >> reporter: but in the early chaos of the tragedy, finding answers became a tangled web. first, the description, they said the shooter wore black and was dead. >> the shooter is deceased in the school. >> reporter: they said they had a name. >> the gunman's name, believed to be ryan lanza. >> reporter: but local police were not officially identifying the shooter. >> we have not made positive identifications. we're working on that. preliminary identifications have been made. >> reporter: but other law enforcement sources identified the shooter as ryan's twenty-year-old brother, adam lanza. >> we know all of this began this morning, when a man police say is twenty-year-old adam lanza. >> reporter: tonight, law enforcement sources confirm that twenty-year-old adam lanza lived in a home here in newtown, connecticut, with his mother, nancy. they say that adam was known to

be very reclusive. he had no job but was considering going back to school. the authorities confirmed that nancy was found dead today in the home she shared with her son. the cause? a single gunshot wound to the face. we went looking for anybody who knew the family. she used to drive them to school on her bus. the young man who is the alleged shooter and his brother, how would you describe them? >> well, i had them on the bus many years ago. they were quiet, reserved and shy, that is how i would describe them. but well-behaved kids. >> reporter: did they stick out in any way? >> no, average kid. >> reporter: mora mcdade used to ride the same bus. what went through your mind when you heard this? >> as soon as i heard the name, i was completely shocked that i knew this person, that he lived so close to me. that i grew up with him, it is just weird. >> reporter: police ended up

taking ryan lanza in for questioning, but the authorities made it clear they thought the gunman acted alone. >> right now there is one shooter. but again, we're still looking at every ancillary fact and circumstance. >> reporter: investigators say adam lanza was carrying his brother's id when he shot up the school, adding to the confusion. law enforcement authorities are reporting that the guns used in the crime were registered to nancy lanza, adam's mother, and were all legally purchased. but why he turned those guns on children is still a mystery tonight? >> and chris hansen joins us tonight. chris, have they been able to shed any light? >> reporter: as far as they can tell there are no obvious indicators as to why he would do this. there were no rantings on line, there wasn't even a social foot

print. lanza's father submitted to volunteer interviews. they really couldn't provide much. in fact, lanza's brother said he hadn't even talked to adam in many, many months. >> and i know right now, they're involved in the sensitive process of identifications. but that said, do you know when they might release the names of families affected? >> it could be a while, lester, the connecticut state police have one of the finest forensic gathering teams in this nation, if not the world. they will carefully go through the school, trying to get every piece of evidence that they can. it will likely be a few days before they actually wrap that up, and they're in a position to actually release the bodies. >> and what do the sources tell you is next in this investigation? >> reporter: well, it is all going to be about evidence. obviously, this suspected shooter is dead. he killed himself today. they have recovered the weapons,

the assault-type weapons, the handgun, the other two weapons in his car and home. they will be looking at that. and really, it is all about the school right now. what is there, what happened and in what order. >> chris hansen, thank you. let's go back to brian in connecticut. >> reporter: well, lester, as you know, i tend to be partial to first responders, anyway. but it tells you something about the scope of this tragedy that even the first responders to the scene today, and those include police officers, state police, but also the local volunteers. even the first responders were all assigned grief counselors because of what they had to see and deal with. the nearest big hospital is in danbury, connecticut. their emergency room was put on full alert just after the shooting. personnel came in. they were warned to prepare for the very worst. sadly, though, that is not what happened. we pick up that part of the story with nbc's andrea canning.

>> reporter: after the shooting, the schools were in lockdown, as was danbury hospital, the staff braced to receive the wounded. dr. john murphy is head of the hospital. >> the reason for that is really out of an abundance of caution. we want to be sure that we allow the team to focus on the work at hand. >> i assembled four teams, one in each trauma room. >> reporter: dr. pat broderick is in charge of the emergency room. so you obviously have plans in place for this type of emergency? >> we rehearse this, we practice it. we hope to god we'll never need this. but in the event this occurs, everybody just goes back into their basic training and just does whatever they need to do to be helpful. >> reporter: just after 10:00 in the morning, the victims started coming, one after the other, each five minutes apart. two children and one adult, all three suffering from serious gunshot wounds.

>> in many situations when you have gunshots of this magnitude, the amount and significance of the injuries is just tremendous. and i'll just say that today's events were just a tragedy that you could not even ever in your wildest dreams imagine for your community. >> reporter: because this is a trauma hospital, doctors and nurses are prepared for the worst. and today, they got the call to expect a lot of victims. but after the first three arrived, no more victims came through their doors. >> you're ready for possibly a lot of people to come in here. a lot of children. and then when you don't see people coming, what is going through your mind at that point? >> it was traumatic in and of itself, in that we all knew what that meant. this must have been what they felt on 9/11, when there was an expectation that there would be many, many injured.

and when they didn't come, the innocence just compounded the tragedy of what we were facing. >> reporter: trauma teams are trained to be methodical in the face of tragedy, but for the team at danbury, the tragedy was especially hard. the two children they were treating didn't make it. and it was also deeply personal, many doctors and nurses live in newtown or know somebody who does. >> it is enormously sad. we're all grieving. i don't think there was a person here who doesn't know somebody affected. and i think there are going to be moments of great sorrow, given that they were exposed to some things that i don't think any professional every contemplates they are going to have to deal with. >> reporter: andrea, i have to say parts of this reminded me of 9/11 in new york city. the hospitals were alerted to expect so many injured and wounded. it didn't happen because of the heavy loss of life. and you have all of these hospital staff members clinging

on to any bit of good news. >> reporter: and that is exactly what the hospital mentioned, was 9/11. exactly what you just said. >> so tonight, the town kind of takes its collective breath. everyone gathering at these houses of worship, the hospitals are back down to normal. they wanted to do know and just couldn't. >> reporter: yeah, and you know it was with such a heavy heart that we had to report that those two children didn't make it. we were really hoping they were going to pull through. we did get some news before the broadcast, the adults did pull through and is expected to make it. so one family did get their loved one home. >> andrea canning, after a day of reporting in newtown, thank you. when we come back, the entire nation, how it reacted to the news of this day. and what kind of conversation this might start.

it is difficult to even say the words, 20 small children today murdered in newtown, connecticut. if you shed a tear, you were not alone. we saw the president himself moved to tears, all across the nation it was that same powerful reaction. it seemed for a moment the sadness so great that america just stopped. >> reporter: their faces said it all. echoing our universal sense of

dismay, and with each new image, our hearts broke again. this was just too much. >> i know there is not a parent in america who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that i do. the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of five and ten years old. they had their entire leavives ahead of them. birthdays, graduations, weddings. kids of their own. >> all day, reporters covering the tragedy, many of them parents themselves wrestled to hold their emotions at bay. >> there are reports that the children were told to cover

their eyes as they fled past the school's main office. >> and inside that room of kindergartners where most of the casualties took place. >> kindergartners. i don't know. i don't have any words for it. >> reporter: just yesterday, children in this close knit community were eagerly anticipating christmas. but now, instead of dreaming about gifts under the tree, they will be haunted by nightmarish images from a morning of terror. connecticut's governor, malloy, struggled to come to grips with this indescribable tragedy. >> evil visited this community today. children, beautiful children, who had simply come to school to learn. their day ended a very different way than any of us could possibly have imagined.

and quite frankly as we stand here today still can't imagine. >> reporter: in newtown and across the nation, flags were lowered in sorrow. the entire country plunged into an angry sadness. >> oh, my god, not again. >> i don't understand why people can have just awful killing machines for no reason, for what reason? it is just horrible. >> my heart's bleeding for these families and -- i just don't know what to say. >> reporter: and tonight, candlelight vigils from the white house. >> our first act will be an act of prayer. >> reporter: to churches right in newtown, honored the victims. >> thank you, for gathers on this most horrible day in our history. >> reporter: in the frenzy of the holidays we are suddenly a nation brought to a horrified halt. as he offered prayers to the

loved ones, house speaker john boehner announced there would be no weekly address tomorrow. even twitter, usually abuzz with the usual topics, all said, pray for newtown. >> how many times have we heard it? a man dressed in black with a gun opens fire at a school, in an office, at a theater, in a mall. today the shooting in connecticut was one of the worst in history. and each time we're forced to revisit that list which just seems to continue to grow and grow. before one community has even begun to heal it seems to happen to another. and the same questions are asked all over again. >> reporter: this week, just three days ago, a gunman went to the mall in clackamas, oregon, he killed two strangers then killed himself. his victims were a much-loved hospice nurse and a coach, who one friend called "bigger than

life." we were disturbed by the shooting because it took place at a busy mall filled with holiday shoppers. but these events don't stay with us for long. the dead are buried and the new cycle moves on. perhaps we have become enured to the horror. at columbine, 21 more survived with gunshot wounds. among them, craig scott. >> the day of the shooting at columbine, it was the worst day of my life. this is worse than columbine. these are little kids that we are talking about. and so many parents' hearts are breaks out there. and i'm sure that many little kids don't understand what happened. >> reporter: columbine is synonymous with mass shootings. what would we do if something like that happened in our school? what if somebody with a gun went in and hurt our kids?

>> it is something you can't imagine, but it is -- you go into shock. it is almost surreal like it is not happening. at first it doesn't seem real, and it takes some time for that shock to wear off. and the people that were at the school that day, they're in shock right now and they will be for a while. >> reporter: columbine was an event so terrible that schools around the country developed protocols so teachers would know how to protect their students in similar situations. protocols teachers used today to save lives in connecticut. >> we all started -- well, we didn't scream. we started crying, so all the teachers told us to go into the offers, where no one could find us. >> reporter: that we even have procedures in place to protect our kids from events like this is worth contemplating. does it mean we have decided this kind of violence is something we just have to live with? april 2007, 32 people are killed

and 17 are injured during a mass shooting at virginia tech, colin goddard was one of those hit by the gunfire. >> i think i was one of those americans who think as long as we live in nice places and you know, send our kids to good schools this is not going to happen to us. and i learned that even there you can become a victim of gun violence. >> reporter: this was the massacre that stopped us cold. all that promise, snuffed out in an instant. all that unspeakable suffering. all that fear again. >> there is not one thing that is going to stop all shootings in this country. you know? but we can do better. than 100,000 americans hit by a bullet every year. >> reporter: january, 2011, six people were killed and 13 were injured in a strip mall parking lot where congresswoman gabrielle giffords was holding a constituency meeting, a meet and

greet. shock, horror, more in mourning. this happened with more frequency. guns are used to kill more than 30,000 people a year in america. yet gun violence is a topic rarely discussed by our politicians. the silence is deafening. dan gross is the president of the brady campaign to prevent gun violence. >> some people have said the white house, even said today is not the day to have a conversation about gun violence, or gun control. would you agree or disagree with that? >> every day is the day to have a conversation about what we can do to prevent tragedies like the one that happened today. you know, yes, there was a tragedy today that is captured, very appropriately. you know the hearts and minds of the public. but every day in our nation, 32 people are murdered with guns. and the majority of those

instances are inherently preventible. and every day that we don't discuss it more people are dying unnecessarily. >> reporter: we contacted the nra about today's shooting. and they responded in an e-mail. until the facts are thoroughly known the nra will not have any comment. fighting tears, perhaps president obama did start the conversation this afternoon. >> as a country we have been through this too many times. whether its an elementary school in newtown, or a shopping mall in oregon. or a temple in wisconsin. or a movie theater in aurora or a street corner in chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. and we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics. >> reporter: harry smith is with us now, when i ran into you a little while ago, the first

thing we said to each other, was man, we've seen this before. we tried out that list and we go through jonesboro, and i noticed even tonight, in these trauma centers we can stand there and watch gunshot victims come in. >> you have spent all that time in chicago, you know what it was like this past summer. there was a weekend when 30 people were shot. ten people killed. not just one weekend, but several weekends. every day, every night in this country people are falling down dead because they have been shot. and what is amazing to me as we have covered these stories over all of these years is how little actual conversation there is in this country about are we just -- is this just okay? is this just all right? that 100,000 people a year have bullets go through their body? 30,000 die, but that is another 70,000 that are walking wounded. >> well, it is a two-part conversation. because the first part of the

conversation, we're all united today in this sense of grief and sadness and horror. but when you move to the second part of the natural conversation, the unity breaks apart. >> well, this is interesting, nobody really offered any kind of legislation. people like the brady group have even given up on even trying. i think it is very interesting, there is this equation that is available. there are more guns per capita in the united states than any other country on the face of earth except yemen, the second amendment. it may, in fact, be sacred to many, many people, but is there any kind of common ground to say that this can't go on the way it is going on? >> harry smith, thank you, let's go back now to brian in newtown. >> reporter: well, lester, here is another way to think of this community. until this happened this

morning, newtown, connecticut had what so many americans yearn for. it was a peaceful place. it had a terrific quality of life. all of that shattered with this one act by one young man. that part of this story tonight from nbc's kate snow. >> reporter: sandy hook elementary school is the kind of new england village that people drive hundreds of miles to see in the fall. majestic maples turn the town red, and weekenders looking for quaintness find it. but december is the real magic time here. lamp posts are draped with evergreens, and local firemen usually do a brisk business selling christmas trees. if norman rockwell were still alive and painting, he would paint sandy hook. >> there is no crime here, everybody is happy,

family-oriented. >> reporter: this morning, christmas was so close, you could smell it. then in an instant christmas never seemed further away. >> this is most definitely the worst thing we experienced here in town. >> reporter: maybe it was the setting and the season that gave today's slaughter of innocence such an awful resonance. >> so close to the holidays where everybody is suppose to be happy it breaks your heart. the poor families, and as a parent. you know, thinking how you would feel. you know, you can't even imagine. >> reporter: marcy benitez runs a clothing store for children, on any other day her shop would be filled with voices and christmas wishes. the clothes on her racks, mute reminders of those who will never wear them. like everyone in town, marcy is

heart sick, desperately trying to understand what happened. >> everybody is like family. you know, it is such a close knit community. and everybody knows each other and helps each other. you know, it is a heartbreaking situation. >> reporter: he moved here more than 30 years ago so his son, michael junior, could attend the schools. both father and son know families affected by the tragedy. >> we have reached out to a few. we don't have definite answers as far as status on everyone. but we're still hopeful and we're still looking out to find out some of the information about them. >> i would have never thought something of this horrific tragedy would have come to sandy hook. i mean, this is such a sweet town. >> reporter: at the local methodist church on the main street of town they opened the sanctuary this afternoon for people to come and pray. the red cross is setting up shop in the basement. >> just want to be here for people that need to be with god and to try to make sense out of

this. and it doesn't make any sense. not in a place like this. >> reporter: all over town, signs ask for prayers. state police shepherd shell-shocked families to their cars. and local firemen, many who rushed to the scene this morning, strongly tried to comfort family and friends of the dead children. what this community has been through today is unthinkable. >> everyone is coming together supporting everyone, working together, trying to answer all the questions as to how and why this occurred and trying to lend support to all the people involved. >> reporter: kate snow is with us from just across town. kate, i saw some of the pictures of the people streaming in there tonight. and it is so understandable, all people wanted was kind of the comfort of community. and having a companion to talk to. >> reporter: that is right, and remember, brian, this is a place where everyone knows everyone. so almost everyone knows a family that has been affected. i watched hundreds of people

stream into the church behind me, the catholic church. 900 inside, hundreds more outside, looking into the window, from the cold. singing "silent night." and one thing that struck me, people who attended the elementary school. talking about what happened today. one little boy asked his mom, did the principal die? and she said i don't know. >> part of what makes it so sad, kate, you pointed out today earlier the beautiful decorations in the town. the crush behind you in front of the church. just the immoveable truth in this story, that we're so close to the christmas holiday. kate snow who has been covering this for us all day. a couple of points, you hear the constant din behind us. we apologize. it is hard to hear because of the generators and the fire equipment. number two, parents are still coming from the school this late in the evening, over to the fire house.

we're not going to put them on television because they zerch -- deserve their privacy. but finally i want to show you a live picture alongside the fire house right behind us. prior to what happened this morning, the most important thing going on at the fire house was the annual sale of christmas trees and wreaths. and they're just sitting there alongside this fire house, which is now part of the beating heart of this town, what is left of the spirit of this town where food is coming in. where the fbi have gathered. and where the investigation now goes on. we'll take a break here. when we come back, answering the questions so many parents have across this country. how do we talk to the kids about what has happened here in newtown?

back in newtown, of course, this is such a perverse story because it involves kids, little kids who did nothing wrong. it is hard enough for adults to process this, what do you say to the children? of course, no two cases are likely. but the experts do have advice on that part of the story, from nbc's natalie morales. >> reporter: as the nation tries to wrap its head around the violence. >> i was in the gym and heard a loud -- well, i heard like seven loud booms. and the gym teachers told us to

go in the corner. >> reporter: tonight, parents will hug their children a little tighter and struggle to comfort them. but how do they explain what they themselves can't understand? >> could anything be worse? all of a sudden, this mass shooting happens in the school, as parents we need to protect our kids and here on a massive scale, kids were not protected. >> reporter: the director of the nyu department of child psychology says parents need to prepare themselves before talking to their kids. >> make sure you're calm enough. you need to make sure that you are not feeling too much grief, too much anxiety, too much anger. make sure you're steady and have the conversation. and it will go okay. >> reporter: and when you're ready to approach your kids, there are certain things you should remember. >> you want to be open so that your child feels that they can talk to you about whatever is bothering them about it. but you want to be calming.

>> reporter: psychiatrists have studied the effects of violence on children. she says whenever this kind of thing happens parents may need to do more than just get their kids to talk. >> so letting them talk about their fears, a, is calming. but b, you want to give them coping skills. so if it is ways to relax, that could be taking deep breaths, going for a run, something distracting, playing catch, watching something funny. engaging in something that just has nothing to do with any of this. >> reporter: if your child does start asking questions, salt says how much you reveal depends on his or her age. >> they are going to be teenagers who are obviously going to ask questions. and i think it is reasonable to answer those questions. but young children do not need to hear the nitty gritty. >> reporter: but no matter their age, always tell the truth. >> you say be honest and tell them what happened, but do you tell them how many people died,

how many were injured? do you get into the details of death? >> i wouldn't offer the details of death. but if your child asks, i wouldn't evade and be dishonest about them. because they're going to hear, a and they need to know that they one, can talk to you. and two, that you're going to be a source of information. and if you're evading the details, then that makes it scarier for them. >> reporter: when kids hear that other kids were victims, does it make them feel even more unsafe? >> if you let them know that that part of what is scary for them is just that they can imagine themselves in these shoes because these were kids, too. and you understand that and they can talk about that with you. but they're not these kids. you know, this is not going to happen to them. you shouldn't let them watch a lot of television because it gives kids the illusion that it could happen to them. >> reporter: and parents should

watch out for signs. >> if your child is having difficulty sleeping, if you see a change in the function of school, pulling away from friends, not wanting to leave home. having more difficulty concentrating on their work, for example. then you want to -- and they're telling you that they're worrying, then you might want to get them some sort of treatment. >> reporter: and it is okay to let your children know that this has been scary for you, too. >> and i think it is important to let the kids know that you know, violence is frightening and it is okay to be afraid. but i think you also want to let them know you have it in perspective. so while this is scary it didn't happen to you and you're going to be okay. >> reporter: so come monday morning when the possibilities across the country send their kids off to school, feeling that hesitation, that fear while their watch their child's backpack slowly slip out the door they need to remember, school shootings are extremely rare. >> the truth is, this rarely

happens. it sometimes is easy to lose that perspective in the middle of tragedy. but it is very important to keep that perspective. >> reporter: and our friend and chief medical correspondent, dr. nancy snyderman is here, mostly in here role as fellow parent. nancy, one of the messages there was interesting. kind of age-appropriate honesty. >> yes, if you have a kindergartner who has no idea what happened today, there is no reason to bring it up. if you have a high school student that needs to hear the questions, i think what gail and natalie talked about, you don't lie. but you don't offer things. we tend to put our parental duties forward. so the changes in behavior are really important. one thing we have not really talked about are the first responders. they're going home tonight grieving and shocked. so they take ahold of their households tonight. a jarring new reality. and kids pick up on that.

so it is okay for a parent or teacher to share their grief with their families. and frankly sometimes that kids be part of that grief and console them. there are no time for family secrets. it is time to share the facts, that this is rare, families come together in times like this. and they talk, and when they talking they heal. >> i also have a feeling that not for lack of sympathy or empathy, a lot of families are trying to go about their saturday tomorrow. >> reporter: and that is important, because i think going back to normal, whether it is a new normal, a regular normal, or whether in a town like this it is a shocked altered reality of normal the human condition requires that we take that next step forward, and i think that is important, too. >> thank you, nancy, and let's go back to lester in new york. brian, thank you, i think some of the images are seared in my head, and a lot of parents. the parents holding their

children, and the unthinkable tragedy. we all wonder what it would be like to get that call. before we leave, i want to show you some powerful images from this long and difficult day.

a difficult day captured in those photos, let's go back the brian in newtown for his final thoughts, brian? >> reporter: well, lester, it sounds trite, i don't know what there is to say. i don't know how you answer for this when you look at the president of the united states and he comes up short at a loss for words. we later learned he had longer remarks to deliver, but he himself couldn't get through it. the question, as we said, at the top of the broadcast lester as you have been asking on the coverage all day, who would kill these kids? where does this come from? how do we recover?

it may be unanswerable. and the answer may be just to try to get through it. and a reminder to stay with your late local news tonight for the latest on this story. i'll remind all of you, my colleague lester holt will be joined tomorrow morning for a special live edition of "the today show." matt lauer and savannah guthrie will be there. from our entire team, on the ground in newtown, connecticut, after a dark day across the country. i'm brian williams, thank you for joining us.